Editorial: No good case made for EAA expansion

The biggest rap against Michigan Education Achievement Authority isn't that it threatens teacher unions; it's that it fails kids. Why any lawmaker would consider the authority's expansion, given its checkered track record, defies logic.

So instead, we have House Bill 4369, which astutely avoids any mention of the authority yet has the potential to do just as much damage. Although its backers don't call it an "EAA expansion," it does exactly that - and then some.

Outside GOP legislators, the governor, a couple of House Democrats and EAA vendors, support for this legislation seems anemic given its potential impact on public education. Those standing opposed seem worthy of serious consideration.

Six of the eight members of the state Board of Education, including some EAA supporters, are on record opposing the bill. Those include board President John Austin and board Secretary Dan Varner, who issued a statement last week:

"House Bill 4369 is not a coherent nor effective school turnaround strategy. Michigan is the only state in the union creating a completely unregulated marketplace of new schools, which is now hurting the performance of all schools," the statement said.

State Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, the bill's sponsor, argues the legislation creates additional options to address failing schools beyond the EAA or turning failing schools over to a charter, theoretically opening the door for intermediate school districts to play a role in helping academically struggling schools.

The Michigan Association of Intermediate School Administrators told MLive, however, that the ISD language in the bill is "not a viable option" and that it opposes the legislation.

"If we don't pass this bill," Lyons told Gongwer news service, "the only game in town to turn around a failing school is a charter school."

How about, as education historian Diane Ravitch suggested on her blog, research-based interventions such as reduced class sizes, wraparound services, the arts, medical care, and a sustained effort to reduce poverty and segregation?

The EAA is not a successful pilot worthy of expansion. Regardless of how its supporters might spin it, the EAA can point to no irrefutable evidence of its effectiveness. Students in state-managed Detroit schools have lost, rather than gained, ground under EAA.

Republicans in the House are close to getting the support needed to send the bill to the Senate and onto Gov. Rick Snyder, who supports the legislation. We urge lawmakers supporting HB 4369 to reconsider and those in opposition to stand firm.

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Editorial: No good case made for EAA expansion

The biggest rap against Michigan Education Achievement Authority isn't that it threatens teacher unions; it's that it fails kids. Why any lawmaker would consider the authority's expansion, given its